6 Games Like Kirby [Recommendations]

Is there anybody out there who dislikes Kirby? It’s hard to imagine. The pink puff legacy has sprawled over so many different games of so many genres that everyone out there at least has one game that they’ll acknowledge they sort of liked. In addition to the mainline platforming games, you’ve got the creatively competitive Kirby’s Dream Course, the visionary Kirby’s Canvas Curse, the laid back Kirby Air Ride, and tons of others. Even the different mainline games have sprawled into several different types of platformers, like the puzzle-based Dreamland line of games, the more action-based ones like Kirby’s Adventure, and even a full-on Metroidvania in Amazing Mirror. And he’s such an affable little fella to boot!

What’s more mind-blowing is that, in spite of all the different forms Kirby has taken on over the years, the core concept of Kirby has never changed. Ever since Kirby’s Adventure introduced the power to steal abilities from your enemies, the franchise has gotten a lot of mileage out of this single mechanic. It should be of no surprise that Kirby has found a ton of success and influenced several other games and franchises.

So, with the upcoming release of Kirby: Star Allies for the Switch, we thought it might be fun to go over some games that may have seen influence from gaming’s hungriest hero. Satiate those cravings with these six other titles!

Similar Game to Kirby

1. Yoshi’s Wooly World

It was a peaceful day in Yoshi Village until Kamek unraveled their world. He’s gone so far as to unwind every Yoshi in order to take them back to his master. Unfortunately, Kamek got greedy and seems to have dropped most of the yarn bundles across the world. He missed one, though, and now that Yoshi is out for revenge! Play as Yoshi and wreak cuddly vengeance over all of Kamek’s minions in order to reclaim your once idyllic life!

Yoshi and Kirby have more in common than both receiving the yarn treatment at some point in their lives. Kirby wasn’t always about eating enemies and copying their powers, after all. The very original Kirby’s Dreamland was more a cutesy shooting game where the enemies served as your ammo. This is actually pretty close to how Yoshi evolved as a character throughout the years. Except instead of only shooting in a straight line, Yoshi can actually angle his shots and bounce them off of walls. The result is more of a 2D exploration game than a straight action game like Kirby, but Yoshi still carries on the tradition that Kirby started. Wii U – Yoshi’s Wooly World E3 2015 Trailer:

2. Mega Man Legacy Collection

Rather than going with one classic Mega Man game, why not get them all? Mega Man Legacy Collection houses all the NES Mega Man games, from the original Mega Man all the way up to Mega Man 6. Backbone Entertainment even added some extra challenges for diehard fans of the blue bomber. You’ll race to beat bosses as fast as possible, sprint through sections of different levels of different Mega Man games without recovering your health in between, and even take on some redux versions of old classics! For only $20, it’s a steal!

While everyone loves Kirby, let’s face it; the powers are the real stars of the show. Mega Man has the same ability to claim an opponent’s powers, except Mega Man only gets them through bosses and keeps them permanently. Strangely, the results are similar to Kirby, where you end up using whatever powers are available on the fly. Just that, instead of grabbing whatever has been placed along the way like in Kirby, you’ll need to preserve your ammo.

Mega Man Legacy Collection – Announce Trailer:

3. Super Mario Odyssey

Bowser’s captured Peach. Again. However, instead of locking her away in his castle, Bowser’s sealing the deal. He’s making sure they’re good and married this time before Mario can stop him. But it can’t only be a simple civil union ceremony at the courthouse. Oh no, Bowser’s gotta have the biggest bash of them all! He’s flying around the world and snagging only the best of the best for his big day. The most elegant dress for his bride. The most refined gourmet. The finest haberdashery. Mario’s going to have to team up with Cappy, a poltergeist with the powers of possession, to stop Bowser this time!

While, technically, Kirby was built on the simple mechanic of sucking up enemies and spitting them back out, it evolved to be more about how you interact with the world using abilities you stole from enemies. Mario Odyssey, in its own strange way, feels like an evolution of this style of gameplay, going a step further by completely changing the way Mario plays with each character. You’ll stack Goombas to reach higher areas, use Hammer Bros to clear out troublesome walls, swim as a Podoboo across steaming hot waters, and so forth, to explore massive worlds to collect Power Stars to travel all across the globe!

Super Mario Odyssey – Game Trailer – E3 2017:

Any Game Like Kirby ?

4. Toki Tori 2+

You’re not going to find a ton of plot in Toki Tori 2+. You’ll play as Toki Tori, the cute yellow bird you see adorning the title art there. He’s only got 2 abilities at his disposal: whistle and stomp. You’ll use these maneuvers to make your way through an ever-expanding, ever-evolving map of levels. Those with a sharp eye, however, will notice all sorts of hidden exits and pathways in each level. Figure these out and you’ll rush through the game at blazing speeds!

The crazy part about Toki Tori 2+ is that every single exit is available to you right from the beginning of the game. You never gain any new abilities beyond the two listed above. Instead, what does grow is your knowledge of how the mechanics interact with different objects and obstacles, giving Toki Tori 2+ tremendous replay value. For those a bit wary of the darker route Metroidvania titles have taken in recent years and miss the days of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Toki Tori 2+ may be an unexpected surprise!

Toki Tori 2+ for Playstation 4 and Steam Release Trailer:

5. Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil

Kloanoa finds himself stranded in the world of Lunatea after the events of the first game. He discovers that there are 4 bells strewn throughout the land. Each one is guarded by a separate kingdom - not that it matters anymore. A strange fifth bell has appeared and chaos has sprouted all across Lunatea in the form of plague and monsters. Klonoa, along with the help of Lolo and Popka, sets out to reclaim the other four bells to seal away the evil once and for all.

The Klonoa franchise has always been tinged with a hint of sorrow buried underneath the fluffy hero and cutesy mascot partners. It’s a bit similar to how every Kirby game is seemingly sweet and innocent until the end game puts you face to face with a Cthuhlian nightmare. People wishing that Kirby would just take that extra step in the narrative department will surely be pleased with Klonoa’s falsely sweet tone.

But for those who may not care about the story, don’t worry! We assure you the stellar platforming is the real star of the show. Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil makes full use of its 2.5D platformer style, as, while you’re locked into a linear path for the entirety of the game, you can grab things out of the foreground and background and throw them back in order to solve puzzles. It’s the rare 2D platformer that actually requires you to think in full 3D!

6. Offspring Fling

Who doesn’t love being a parent? Except when you lose track of your kids. That’s always a bit frustrating. The unnamed star of Offspring Fling knows your pain. And chances are she’s got more kids than you to boot, as she has to make her way through over 100 different levels to track them all down. You’ll pick them up and toss them towards every exit while avoiding danger around every turn. And who knows? You may even discover some neat surprises along the way - but only if you’re cool enough (at least according to the official website).

Offspring Fling is what you’d get if you rethought Kirby’s core inhaling and shooting mechanics into a puzzle game. Your kids are the bullets, but rather than casually discarding them, you’ll need to protect them while figuring out how to transport them to the exit of each level. It gives your “ammo” a bit more personality than just a generic star, but also has that slightly cheeky sense of self-aware humor that Kirby’s always kept under wraps.

Offspring Fling Reveal Trailer:

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this is enough to satisfy your hunger for more Kirby games. At the very least, it should cover a wide variety of different aspects of Kirby that we all know and love. If not, well, we’ll leave that up to the comments! Please, if you know of any more games like Kirby out there, let us know in the comments below! There’s so much out there, that we know we missed some!

Writer

Author: Matt Knodle

I come from Indiana, where I grew up near a video rental shop that proudly stated “The widest selection of anime in the state”, setting me on a course to enjoy as much anime as possible. I’ve devoted myself to over-analyzing various sports anime and video games probably more than they were ever intended. I currently co-host a weekly sports anime fan podcast called KoshienCast with my good friend, Matt.